*Picture is of Avery*
11:00pm
"I'm Avery." She said, taking a step towards us. Avery had bright red hair that sat in curls. She wore a black one piece suit that looked like it was made of some sort of armour. She had a gun strapped to the top of her thigh, and a belt lined with bullets around her waist. I'm not going to lie; she looked badass. Her gaze turned to me, looking me up and down. "I'm guessing you're the leader?" she asked.
"Why would you guess that?" I asked. She smiled slightly, looking at me like I was a pathetic child.
"Beside the fact that everyone is basically hiding behind you; you stand straighter, you have the nicest jacket, your hair is the messiest which is an obvious indicator of stress and you have bags under your eyes which means you haven't slept in ages or you did just have a sleep but it was 10x shorter than you would've wanted." She said. "I'm right, aren't I?"
"So you analyse people?" I asked.
"Well if I'm going to run a community I need to know the motives behind people." She smiled. "So what do you want?"
"We're looking for someone." I said.
"Who?" she asked.
"Harper." I said. "Harper Thorn – Peters."
"I know everyone in Columbus and there's not one Harper." She shook her head.
"Are you sure?" Dylan asked.
"I think I would remember a name like Harper." She said. "If it was a Sarah or Mark for instance, then we would have some trouble."
"Right." I sighed. "We'll be going then."
"No." she stepped forward. "Stay the night; no harm or foul. You all look exhausted."
"We'll be fine."
"I'm not going to kill you." she interrupted me. "Nothing is going to happen. You can all sleep in the same room."
"We do need some rest Luis." Amelia said.
"If we're all in the same room they can't do anything." Max agreed with Amelia; of course. I looked at Avery, pressing my lips together.
"Fine." I said. "One night."
"That's all I offered." Avery smiled.
+++
I sat down on the concrete next to an asleep Amelia. I had offered to take watch because I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep. This whole trip was a waste of time; and now we're holed up in some weird dome thing under some other person's power. I don't like it.
Harper isn't even here. She's probably dead. I know that's horrible, but it's true. Vixen was right; you shouldn't talk about someone who's missing like they're alive. It gets your hopes up and lets you down every single time.
The door to our room opened, but I stayed still. I wanted to know what they were doing. All I have to do is yell and everyone will wake up. They turned their flash light on, shining it on people's faces.
"We're okay." I heard a man's voice. "Pass them to me." he pointed his flash light at the person behind him, and I swear it was Harper.
"Harper?" I said, standing quickly.
"We have an awake one." The man yelled. He turned, pushing the girl out of the room, closing the door behind him so the room went back to pitch black. I ran to the door, banging on it.
"HARPER!" I shouted.
"What's going on?" someone said behind me.
"I-I just saw Harper." I said kicking the door.
"Really?" someone else said.
"Can you guys smell that?" I heard Amelia say. I turned, taking a deep breath through my nose. It smelt like vinegar.
"Guys don't breath it in!" I yelled, but I heard someone hit the floor, followed by the others. I covered my mouth and nose with my shirt, but I could feel my knees begin to give way. They were poisoning us. I fell to the ground, my hands out in front of me to block the fall. My shirt dropped off my face and I inhaled the gas. My eyes drooped, and my arms began to shake. Soon they gave my, my face hitting the pavement, knocking me out.
+++
I gained consciousness in a room by myself. I was hand cuffed to a dentist chair, my mouth covered in tape. I looked around, as the door opened. In walked Harper, but it wasn't her. Her hair was cut short into a pixie and she was thin. She wore black leather pants and a tan leather vest. She looked at me, her expression neutral, almost as if she didn't know who I was. As she turned, I saw a tattoo on her right shoulder. I couldn't make out what it was. She walked to the table, turning her back on me.
She ignored me, her hand reaching down and picking something off the table. She turned back to me, in her hand a blade the size of her hand. She looked me up and down, walking over to me and placing the knife on the table next to me. She sat on the stool next to my chair, putting her head in her hands. She took a deep breath before looking back up at me.
"My name is Maddox." She said. I shook my head. She rolled her eyes, reaching up and tearing away my sticky tape.
"You're Harper." I coughed.
"No, I'm Maddox." She sighed. "You're mistaking me for someone."
"No – No I'm not." I shook my head again. "I don't know what game you're trying to play -"
"This isn't a game Luis." She said, and for a second, I saw the old Harper. She picked up the knife, walking behind me so I couldn't see her.
"What are you doing?" I asked. "Harp – Maddox?"
"You have to hold still." she said as I felt her grab my hair and push my head forward until my chin touched my chest.
"Maddox?" I repeated. "J-Just tell me what you're doing."
"You have to hold still." she said again. I felt the cold knife touch the back of my neck. It began to sting, and then it began to hurt, bad. She was cutting me – I think. It felt like a paper cut, but really, really bad. She lifted the knife, but it was still hurting. I heard her break something, and then her finger tips were on my skin. She pulled back the skin she had just cut and slid something in. "Have you ever had stitches?" she asked.
"N-No." I stuttered. She knew I hadn't had stitches before. Before I knew it, she was sticking the needle through. I cried out, trying not to move. I put my fist in my mouth, biting down hard. I took it out when I began to taste blood, replacing it with my jacket collar. A few minutes went by, and each time she threaded the needle through it hurt more.
"Done." She said after 3 minutes.
"What did you do?" I asked as she walked in front of me. I looked at her hands to see them covered in my blood. "What did you do?!" I yelled at her. She stuck her hand behind her, pulling out her gun. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO ME?" I screamed as she pointed the gun at me.
"You'll see." She said, and without even flinching, she shot me in the head.
+++
Hey Guys!
I know what you're thinking:
You used your own name as one of the characters, how lame.
Well actually, i had several messages telling me to use my name. I asked for bitchy, bossy names and you all said you had met someone named Avery (BOY AND GIRL) who were bitchy or mean. I don't connect this with myself, but I admit the name itself seems bitchy.
Hope you guys don't mind, plus Avery suits her character so much.
BTW: did you like new character Maddox? Or is it Harper? OHHHHHH MYSTERY!
Love you all immensely,
Avery Beth xoxo